By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff reporter
A pair of elephants donated by the Cambodian government arrived in Seoul on Thursday evening, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.
Currently, there are 11 elephants in six zoos in Korea, but they are in their 30s and the females are no longer reproductive.
The city government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade made joint efforts to arrange the donation of the two elephants.
Elephants are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and banned from being bought or sold between countries.
Seoul sent an official letter asking for a donation of elephants to the Cambodian Forest Service through MOFAT and they got the nod in May to transport two of them.
The 20-year-old male elephant is 2.4 meters tall and weighs 2.5 tons, while the 27-year-old female is 2.5 meters tall and weighs 3 tons.
The two new elephants will be transferred to Children's Grand Park in eastern Seoul. They will go through an inspection and period of adjusting to their new environment and climate, before being presented to the public.
"We expect them to enliven zoo visitors with fresh interest and hope to carry out breeding plans," a city official said. "Moreover, we expect the two elephants will help bring the two nations closer."